The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-03-19
FRIGHTFUL FIRE.
The Richmond Hotel, Buffalo,
Burned.
SEVERAL PERSONS KILLED.
\ Number Seriously Injured IN Try
ing 70 Escape-HOrrible sights
at he Scene.
Disastrous Fire

=
Hotel and st. James Hall were burned
early this morning. The loss is tGliy
half = million dollars. a number OF
live are reported lost and many N
irre5 The building is situated on tAe
corner of Main and Eagle streets e4-
tending through to Washington Street
The FIRE was discovered at 3.9o tnlS
morning, in the new hichluonu
Hotel. The alarm was sounueu'
and the fire department re-
sponded promptly. Inc houat con-
+ained large number of guests and
their beartrending shrieks could plainly
he heard. Ladders were raised as soon
as nossible and as many as could were
aiken out A large number OF them
were unable to effect their escape, At
o'cI ock the entire Richmond, st. James
Hall and other property IN the BLOCK
we're doomed to speedy destruction. the
whole place burned like finder. The
corridor in the centre of the building
acted as a great funnel and as the
flames streamed upwards the guests
found themselves imprisoned by walls
of f~e. The screams of the unfortu-
mates could be heard for blocks and
at many of the windows they
could be seen in their night
clothes calling wildly for help.
At one of the third floor windows two
guests were seen by the crowd to fall
back into the flames. One man Jumped
from the fifth floor to the roof of two
story wooden building adjoining. He
was seriously injured: The number OF
those injured is not exactly known.
Hon. u. W. Barse, of Clean, \. Y, was
terribly burned about the hands and
wrists. A number of insurance men
were N the building and several OF
them we're badly injured. Among
them are w. J. Mckay, OF Nj
agara Falls; c. NJ. Dubois, of SYRIA
cuse; W. S. Dewey, of Rochester, who
escaped with bad burns; Clinton Bid
we'll, OF Pittsburg, badly burned. At
the hospitals are Charles DAVIS, of New
York hands and feet badly burned; H.
B. Smith, of the North British Insurance
Company, of New York. hands and feet
burned Edward Whelan, of New York,
hands in a terrible condition. They
are probably not fatally injured. The
Fitch hospital contains eight men
and one woman. All are IN
a ba3 condition and more or less
seriously injured All are from out OF
town, except the woman. Two of the
injured are at the Sisters Hospital.
There are also four injured persons at
the general hospital.
The rapidity of the fire cutting on the
means Of escape led some persons to
leap for lifefrom the windows. Others
got down the fre-escspes or on ladders
raised by the fire department. The
shrie6s and cries of the poor people in
the upper stories of the burning struc-
turs were heartrending. One man,
mad with terror, leaped from a third
~sol-1
from the stone sidewalk on Main Street
a mangled and bleeding corpse. Sew raj
who succeeded in making their escape
were badly injured and burned, and
some of these will probably die. Others,
more fortunate, escaped with slight In
jurieS. 1t is low believed that az least
twelve persons were burned TO death.
There were 125 persons IN the hotel,
seventy of whom were tran sient guests,
eight were bOarders, and the remainder
porterS, beli-boys, and families of the
proprictOrs and clerks. twenty-five of
these we're rescued from windows by
the bremen; twenty-five are at the
hospitals, and large number made
their escape by other means.
Inc origin of the fire is not
as yet known. William ii. AL
port, night clerk, says: "The fire
started IN the cloak room, under
the main stairway, at 80 O'Clock.
There was nobody up but myself, the
night porter, and the bell BOY. pulled
an lour OF the fire alarms on different
noors and people came flying down
stars in their night clothes. The fire
followed the elevator and inside of five
minutes 1t reached the top floor. l
rushed out ofthe door after doing all l
could"
The bell boy, Plummer, tells his ex-
Periehce, as follows; Il was busting
the reading room when I heard
shout and saw the flames
coming up the stairway from
the basement. iMr. Airport and / turned
on the hose under the main stairway:
We st-alghtened the hose out and
turned the valve, but the water would
not run. Then We gave the alarm
Ihe Waterman and l got plank and
0roke IN the Eagle Street entrance to
the hotel. Then we got the plank under
me IRE escape off Eagle Street
ana we helped the people
down. I think there were about
forty-eight guests in the house"
The spread of the flames was friehtful
IN Us rapidlty. The elevator shaft
served as flue for the flames and the
Whole structure was enyeloped in few
moments. As the guests were aroused
and saw the interior exit cut of, they
turnei TO the windows. They could be
seen standing out clear and vivid be-
lore the lurld background OF the flames.
nelF screams were horrible to lear
and they could be heard for blocks.
The hremen did noble work and con-
lned the ire to the narrow limits of the
three buildings named. Their work of
rescue had many exciting incidents.
Inc telegraph wires were as usual in the
way OF the ladder brigade and much
valuable time was lost in getting the
ladders past them. TIE FIRE which was
under control by O'Clock was confined
% Richmond Hotel and the museum
proper and the saloon of James
creighton and the cigar store of
j. Z: Palacio on Main Street. Hugo V.
A.tShul, ofNew York. assisted number
" women from the burning building
ne then made his own escape by leap
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